Apple Buys WiFiSlam, Indoor Location Startup

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple has acquired a Silicon Valley startup, WiFiSlam, which makes mapping applications for smart phones. Apple confirmed the acquisition, but declined to give details. The news was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal, which quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Apple paid around $20 million for the company. "Apple acquires smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," an Apple spokesman told Reuters. WiFiSlam develops technology that provides indoor tracking and similar services. Big tech companies such as Apple and Google have been racing to provide more and better map applications for users. Google's application, Google Maps, is widely accessed on Google's Android platform and rival Apple's rival iOS platform. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

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The 19 Most Ridiculous Apple Map Fails

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‏@jsjohnst tweeted it best: "Doing LSD was one of the most important things I've done in my life." --Steve Jobs
From: ‏@jsjohnst

The Statue of Liberty is looking a little... flat.
From: @davidgustav

Well... at least it kind of looks like art?
Form: @Reggington

But no cigar.
From: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

If you squint, you can almost see... no, nevermind.
From: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

Definitely helpful.
From: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

@fromedome calls this "#ios6pocalypse," and we agree.
From: @fromedome

According to Apple Maps, the city of Hong Kong is not actually on Hong Kong Island (because that makes sense...).
From: Australian Business Traveller

London's Paddington Station no longer exist.
From: Australian Business Traveller

Maybe Apple's just giving us a glimpse of what Boston will be like after global warming.
From: The Amazing IOS 6 Maps

Don't even try searching for a location in Japan, as the country's data seems to be widely unavailable.
From: Phone Arena

Nope, the buildings of Chicago (and other cities) are just mislabeled. #NBD
From: Phone Arena

The capital of Ukraine can be spelled Kiev or Kyiv... but definitely not Kylv.
From: Phone Arena

Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford Upon Avon will not be, as Apple Maps has completely erased this town.
From: Huffington Post UK

In Australia, one Sydney Apple Store is listed on the wrong side of the road. Compared to other Apple Maps mistakes, this isn't too big of a deal -- but c'mon, it's the Apple Store.
From: Huffington Post UK

"What a crock of shit," @loopingstar says of his blurry hometown's new map.
From: @loopingstar

lynnfoss126:

anishpc:London Eye Capsules?

kudzudog:I suppose I could go here to work on my "pitch" shot.

principessadrit:

DefineReality:This track hasn't existed since 1992 when the property was sold to Boeing.